Kentucky SF Alex Poythress won't enter NBA Draft

Kentucky's Alex Poythress (22), seen here shooting under pressure from LSU's Johnny O'Bryant III, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, will return to school for his sophomore season. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

Freshman Alex Poythress, once thought to be a lottery pick,
announced his intentions to stay in school for at least one more year and hold
off on declaring for the NBA Draft.

"This year didn't end like we
wanted it to," Poythress said. "I want to come back and do what we
said we wanted to do and that's win a national title. I want to develop more as
a player and the competition coming in next year should help me do that."

The 6-foot-7, 240-pounder from Clarksville, Tenn. was second on
the team in scoring, averaging 11.2 points and 4.6 rebounds to go along with
2.7 assists as the defending national champions finished 21-12 and were bounced
from the first round of the National Invitational Tournament on the road against
Robert Morris (Penn.)

Despite shooting nearly 60 percent from the field and better than
40 percent from 3-point range, Poythress's freshman season was plagued by inconsistency.
He showed signs of the brilliance that made many see him as potential impact
player at the next level, scoring 20 or more points in games Duke, LSU and
Missouri, but struggled down the stretch of the season, failing to score in
double figures in 11 of the Kentucky's last 13 games.

It's a good problem for coach John Calipari, but Poythress staying
creates a log jam at the forward position, considering the talented bunch of
recruits Kentucky has coming in. Next year's roster will likely include include
All-Americans commit Julius Randle as well signees James Young and Marcus Lee and they're still in the running for 6-foot-7 Canadian Andrew Wiggins, the nation's No. 1 recruit.

"I'm really happy that, after talking with his family
and evaluating his options, Alex has decided to return for his sophomore
season," Calipari said. "Alex is a great kid with a lot of potential and I'm
excited to be able to work with him next year. I believe we have only scratched
the surface with Alex, and another season in college will get him closer to
reaching his dreams."

Nick Birdsong covers basketball for al.com. He can be reached at 205-325-2327 or nbirdsong@al.com. Follow him on Twitter @birds_word.